Ready to explore the world?
Girl Guides Australia international travel opportunities offer unique experiences that will help you explore the globe, create lasting memories, develop new skills, and form lifelong friendships with Girl Guides/Girl Scouts from around the world. Not to mention an opportunity to broaden your horizons and become a true global citizen.
As a Girl Guide in Australia, you are a member of a worldwide movement of over 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from over 153 countries in 5 regions. Each Region has a world centre. Find out more here World Centres Website.
Check out some great World Centre Volunteer Stories here.
Nuestra Cabana - Mexico - 2025
Victoria Bullard is Unit Leader at Brighton Rangers Girl Guides in Victoria.
Tori is currently volunteering at Nuestra Cabana. She started there at the beginning of 2025 and has been enjoying the experience in Mexico, so much that she has signed up for a second season!
Tori has previously volunteered at Pax Lodge in London and is an active volunteer for Girl Guides Australia editing the Friends of the World Centre newsletter. She will be home at the end of October.
Our Chalet - Switzerland - 2025
Zoe Manoussakis is currently volunteering for a season at Our Chalet.
She is 2 weeks into training now. Training involves everything from learning to clean the Chalet, to preparing dinner, learning about the programs they’ll run this summer, as well as how to run tours for guests.
Plus, very importantly, learning to work in our big team of international volunteers.
“I am going to be the guest service specialist volunteer for this season, so I’m learning to work in the office and help with the organisation of guest services. So far it’s provided a lot of good challenges, it’s a lot to learn, but I’m very excited to be here and it’s ridiculously beautiful in the area! I’m here for 3 and a half months till the end of August.”
Our Chalet - Switzerland - 2024
Ella Phillips is part of Marlin Coast Girl Guides in the Tropical North Region of Queensland. She has shared her experience below!
What does a day at the chalet look like?
Our workdays varied day to day. Sometimes it was hosting guests at campfire, cleaning washrooms and common areas, cooking family meals and singing karaoke, laundry parties and a lot of vacuuming.
Other times it was getting up in the middle of the night to do a sunrise hike with a group or staying up late eating chocolate fondue and fruit while we did the dishes or having to herd an escaped cow back into the paddock.
So, all work and no play?
I reckon most if not all Guides and Scouts can make any work fun. Some of the best fun I had was doing puzzles with my friends, visiting KISC and learning about the Goose network, having campfires with the Pinkies and Volleys, exploring Switzerland on days off, taking trains, buses, boats all around the country, playing board games in German (l lost), watching the Tillies VS Switzerland soccer match in Zurich with Morgan (an undercover Kiwi) and so many late nights and early morning adventures.
I have made some absolutely incredible lifelong friends from all over the world, from Girl Guides, Scouts to the local people of Chalet. It has been excellent working with the amazing LTS at Chalet and learning about the very first world centre.
Want to Volunteer at the World Centres?
Girl Guides in Australia have the opportunity to volunteer at these world centres find out more about current opportunities here.
For information about joining the WAGGGS Volunteer Pool click here.
Find out more about the some of the WAGGGS Member Organisation countries with the Guides Go Globetrotting program resources.
Girl Guides Australia Travel Update - Effective 1 June 2023
International travel may resume to approved Girl Guiding events (including camps and jamborees) by Youth Members, Adult Members, contingents and individuals, subject to the requirements set out below and all usual risk management considerations:
- Travel insurance is a requirement to attend events overseas which the Traveller is to obtain themselves. Travellers take full responsibility for meeting all expenses not covered by their travel insurance including any costs relating to requirements to quarantine.
- Travellers must meet all requirements for the country they are visiting and for returning to Australia.
- Travellers should travel by the most direct route and only transit through other countries where direct flights are not available.
- Travellers are to register their travel plans by emailing the National Coordinator – International at international@girlguides.org.au) in advance, including confirmation that they have all relevant vaccines as recommended by their medical adviser.
The above requirements continue to also apply to adults travelling to World Centres (which resumed from 1 June 2022) and Adult Members volunteering at World Centres (which resumed from 1 July 2022). There are no remaining general restrictions on travel imposed by GGA arising from the COVID-19 pandemic other than as set out above.
The National Coordinator – International will consider a range of matters related to COVID-19 in deciding whether to approve the advertisement of international events, the formation of international contingents and group international travel applications including:
- requirements for vaccination
- any requirements for insolation or quarantine in the destination countries, and how the risk management planning addresses this risk and
- Smart Traveller Advisory Levels 1 (Exercise normal precautions) and 2 (Exercise a high degree of caution) only.
Groups or individuals looking to travel in 2023 are encouraged to reach out to the National Coordinator – International (international@girlguides.org.au) to ensure that they are kept up to date on any changes to GGA guidance.
Changes may be made to this guidance at short notice if there are changes in government regulations or advice.
Australian Friends of the World Centres (FOWC)
The FOWC aims to support the World Centres by encouraging visits to the Centres and financial donations.